Sunday, March 28, 2010

All right, ladies: Is it just me? That time of the month seems to make my CFS symptoms so much worse. Everything is magnified, and the progress I've worked so hard for fades away for the week. The headaches, the fatigue, the moodiness, the achiness -- it's like PMS intensifies my CFS and CFS intensifies my PMS.

Have any of you found a way to tame the beast and keep the suffering at a minimum? Any strategies for holding on to the progress you've made during this time?

9
comments:

Definitely not just you. I've just spent the past 3 days in bed, feeling like my head, arms and legs were all weighed down. And I'm expecting my period any day now, (it's going to be two weeks early, which is odd, but I know this feeling, my CFS only gets this bad before my period.)

Sorry. I'm afraid I haven't found any way to tame it. I tried using birth control to stop my periodsl, but that just made me feel terrible all month long. All I know to do is just wait it out, and remember that it won't always be this bad. It also helps to have someone read to you while you close your eyes :)

I too feel worse the last 2-3 days before my periods. I often feel like I'm catching a cold.Haven't found any other way to deal with it other than telling myself it will get better once my period start.

I haven't had a regular cycle for 18 months now, because I have the contraceptive implant, and to be honest, I've always had bad periods, so I wouldn't really be able to tell if it was worse with the ME.

I do find though, since the ME, that I'm always at my perkiest in the few days after I stop bleeding. If I'm ever going to have energy for something out of the ordinary, that's the time to do it.

During the slow onset of my CFS when I was still menstruating I found the pre period time increasingly difficult and protracted. Then my periods started becoming irregular and that was the end of that. Nothing really helped except large doses of artificial hormone but I'm off that now. Dark chocolate, evening primrose oil and vitamin B6 all help slightly The trials of being a woman eh?

Getting my period definitely makes all my CFS symptoms much worse...and yes, I have found some thing that helps a LOT. My doctor put me on a 90-day birth control pill. It keeps my hormone levels consistent for 90 days at a time, and I only go off it for 5 days to have a period 4 times a year. She said it's not even necessary to have periods anymore, but I find that my body seems to need it after 90 days. I also get killer headaches when I get my period so it helps that, too. So, instead of feeling horrible one week out of every 4, I now only suffer (in that way!) 5 days out of every 3 months. Much more tolerable.

Planning helps - knowing when the little "gift" will show up helps me prepare. I get the headaches Sue mentions, too. I try to cut out the sodas and excess salt month-round but I get extra-vigilant right before the period starts. I also do more frequent yoga breaks during the day, as opposed to one longer session in the AM. That seems to help quite a bit.

About Me

I am a 46 year old stay at home mom. I have been married since 1988 to the world's best husband. We have six wonderful children. My husband and I are starting our own small business together. I have had Chronic Fatigue Syndrome since about September 2006. It's such a strange disease (illness? condition? ailment?). I wanted to create a place where I could come and write about what it's like to deal with the challenges of living the CFS life. I honestly believe that sometime, somewhere, some doctor is going to magically tell me, "Oh, I know what this is!" and I will be cured. Until that time, I'm hoping to learn something about myself and maybe help others.